Back to the San Francisco 49ers Newsfeed

49ers archive: Bill Walsh’s in-depth path to drafting Joe Montana

Bill Walsh’s final days in the 49ers organization were sadly approaching. It was the spring of 2004, 25 years after he first arrived to transform not only the 49ers but the entire NFL.

It was time for glorious reflection.

Error 0:

One afternoon, Walsh set aside an hour to revisit history, to talk about a draft pick from his first year in 1979, to explain the third-round arrival of quarterback Joe Montana.

“It’s almost a timeless experience,” Walsh began. “It seems like yesterday, in a sense. Then you think of everything that’s occurred since.”

The Team of the 80s.